Gluten-free tip: Be your own baker

There are plenty of excellent ready-made gluten-free breads and muffins out there and with these simple tips you can also learn to make your own.

There are plenty of excellent ready-made gluten-free breads and muffins out there and with these simple tips you can also learn to make your own. Gluten is what holds wheat-based baked goods together, aids in rising, and gives springiness and structure, so no one gluten-free grain flour can replace wheat flour in a recipe. Make your own gluten-free flour mix by following the all-purpose Alison’s Gluten-Free Baking Mix; then replace wheat flour 1:1 with your mix or a store-bought option such as Pamela’s or Bob’s Red Mill.

Extra flavor boosters can help subdue any curious flavors gluten-free flour mixes may lend baked goods. For sweet baked goods try vanilla extract, almond extract, ginger, cinnamon, or citrus zest. Onion or garlic powder, dried herbs, and Parmesan cheese can be used in savory baked goods such as pizza crust. “Use xanthan gum, which mimics gluten by binding ingredients in baked goods so they don’t turn into a plate of crumbs,” Fenster says. A rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum for every cup of flour in cake; 1 ½ teaspoons for every cup in muffins and quick breads, and 1/4–1/2 teaspoon for each cup in cookies.